Apparatus for heating the combustible charges of internal-combustion engines.



A. J. K. WILESMITH. APPARATUS FOR HEATING THE COMBUSTIBLE CHARGES OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR-29,1915- Patented Aug. 241, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEETI.

A. J. K. WILESMITH. APPARATUS FOR HEATING THE COMBUSTIBLE CHARGES OF INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 29. 1915.

Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' a jacket an 1 ALFRED JOHN IKEMUEL WILESMITH, 0F LEIGH, ENGLAND, ASSIG-NOR 0F ONE-HALF TO WILLIAM HENRY LEEKE, 0F WORCESTER, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR HEATING THE GOMBUSTIBLE CHARGES OF INTERNAL-COMBUSTION I ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 24, 1915.

Application filed March 29, 1915. Serial No. 17,891.

Great Britain, residing at Pigeon House,

Leigh, in the county of Worcester, England, engineer, have invented certain vnew and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Heating the Combustible Charges of Internal-Combustion Engines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to apparatus for heating the combustible charges of internal' combustion engines or facilitating the vaporization of fuels employed in connection with such engines, particularly the fuels of heavy density, such as parafiin, and refers to apparatus of the nature in which the induction pipe connecting the carbureter with the inlet ports of the engine passes through'or is .-pa rtially inclosed within the interior of an exhaust chest or chamber inwhich the exhaust gases are precipitated or expelled and which is secured to the cylinder orcylinders. In this inventionmeans of a. simple character are furnished for eqnalizingthe ,heat on the inclOSQdindutztion pipe and thereby rendering'theworking of the engine more satisfactory and efficient. I

According to the present invention the exhaust gases which impinge upon the part of the induction pipe within the exhaust chest leave the chest at or near both ends of same thereby equally distributing the heat on the whole of the inclosed induction pipe.

In order that this. invention may-'be'clearly I understood and readily carried into practice, reference maybe had to the appended explanatory sheet of drawings, upon which Figure 1 is a front elevation of a heating or vaporizing apparatus, constructed in accordance with. the present invention. Fig. 2 is a plan of the apparatus shown' in Fig.

'1, and Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of'the apparatus. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional View showin the inlet pipe as provided with (I also having a remixer therein. v Fig. 5 is longitudinal sectional view showing the inlet pipe arranged somewhat difierently from in Fig. 4 and also having a difierent form of jacket, the remixer being omitted, In accordance with the present invention, as applied to the internal combustion engine of an automobile, the exhaust chest or casing -1 which is suitably attached to the cylinder heads, and is adapted to convey the exhaust gases from the said cylinders to the exhaust pipe is in this invention provided internally with the induction pipe 2 whereby same is considerably heated by the exhaust gases expelled from the engine. The

inductlon pipe 2 which connects or communicates the. carbureter with the inlet ports of the engine is of branched formation within the exhaust chest or casing in the case of a' number of .cylinders, each branch orarm leading or conducting the inlet gas as afore stated to the inlet ports of the cylinders. By this arrangement it will be seen that the exhaust gases play upon this branched or single induction pipe 2, (according to the number of cylinders) contained Within the exhaust chest or casing 1.. The exhaust chest or casing. in this inventionv is preferably in the form. of a somewhat rectangular or oblong box ,(as. illustrated). into which the exhaust, gases are precipitated and through which the induction pipe 2 passes.

In the case of a four cylinder engine the exhaust chest or casing 1 may'bein communication with the four cylinders by means of four short or suitably constructed exhaust pipes 3 and the exhaust gases leave the chest or casing through the medium of two outlet pipes 4 which enter or are connected adjacent to the two closed extremities of .the said chest 1, and said pipes may unite or join together in any position'conveniently centrally'of the casing and externally thereof and beneath, whence a single pipe or conduit5'may be employed forv conveying the exhaust gases to the silencer; The ln- 7 let or induction pipe' 2 through which the Y gases pass may be in the form of U or fork shaped member as shown, the most part of which is preferably disposed in the exhaust chest or casing 1. In the case of a four cylinder engine this forked induction pipe 2 is provided with two furtherbranches upon each limb or arm thereof to supply the gas to the four cylinders, but these further branch pipes are preferably not incased within thechest 1. Uhviously the induction pipe 2 and 'chest or casing 1 can be constructed for use with any engine independ ent of the number of cylinders thereof. the applied; to a tour cylinder engine, the

forked to supply the gas to the four cylinders.

and square section chest or casing 1 at a number of positions 3 along its length, and in order to enable .a uniform pressure and flow or feed of the exhaust gases to be obtained, the chest or casing 1 may be bulged or enlarged at positions 7 where the in closed induction pipe2 passes transversely.

therethrough so that an unrestricted passage is left from the one extremity of the casing to the other, from the two extremities of c which the exhaust gases are conducted awayv as aforestated at 4. i

The foregoing arrangementhas been de-.

" scribed more particularly with reference to engines having the. inlet and exhaust ports on the one side of the engine, cylinders, but

when the inlet and exhaust are arranged on opposite sides, it will be seen that the chest or casing 1 may be disposed on the exhaust side of the engine and-the inductionpipe 2 may be continued to the other side of the cylinders or engine, a portion of said induction pipe, of course, being disposed in the chest or casing for heating the ingoing gases.

Or iii another arrangement in which the inlet and exhaust ports are on opposite sides of the engine, the chest or casing maybe attached to the inlet side of the engine in f which case the exhaust pipes 3 are extended to the other side of the engine. Obviously the; arrangement may be suitably constructed for use with overhead inlet, exhaust ports, and overhead inlet and exhaust ports.

The exhaust chest or casing 1 may be re l tained in position against the engine through I the medium of bolts, pins or the like, and

- the exhaust and inlet ports or'pipes of the said chest may be provided with fixed or movable flanges which are suitably machined and bear against or contact corresponding flanges provided upon the port or pipes of the engine, also said inlet pipe or pipes may be retained within the chest or casing through the medium of contacting flanges. When the inlet pipes 2 have to pass to the opposite sides of the engine to which the chestor casing 1 is attached, a portion of the said inlet pipe is exposed to the atmos phere and on this account a remixer may, if desired, be employed and this remixer may be in the form of a number of concentrically disposed conical tubes 8 arranged closely together within the inlet pipe or pipes 2 as shown in Fig. 4, in such a manner that the gases when entering the cylinders pass It will be understood that the cylinders of the engine exhaustinto the oblong ing through the induction pipe.

gases drawn through same is ncreased, and

said gases are completely mixed thereby providing a more satisfactory and effective combustible fuel in certain engines in which the gas tends to separate from the air due either to overheating or to partial cooling.

With further reference to the construction of the U-shaped induction pipe 2 within or partly within the chest or casing 1, the central part and two transversal extremities 6 may be entirely contained within the chest or casing 1 to give a particularly large heating surface, or the central part may be disposed externally of the chest or casing, or said central part may be partly within and partly without the heating chest or casing, as illustrated. It is preferable to employ a very short length of induction pipe 2 between the carbureter and the cylinder or cylinders, substantially the whole of which is heated. In instances in which only a short portion of the induction pipe 2 is contained within the .ohest or casing 1, that portion may be of enlarged dimensions to give an increasedheating surface, while if desired the inclosed portion of the induction pipe 2 or the whole thereof may be of a different metal or alloy to that of the chest or chamber ac- 1 cording to the tem erature to which it is desired to raise the gases.

'ordinary'petroleum, or material, which will i not burn or carbonize at a temperature necessary toassist in the further vaporization 5 or heating of the combustible charges pass- This oil jacket or sheath provided around the inducv tion pipe and around all or any of its branches may be constructed by providing an external concentric tube around the induction pipe and filling the interior space between these two pipes with the oil or other liquid or material aforestated. Such an oil jacket not only prevents the over-heating of the combustible gases, but also cooperates with the arrangement of the inlet and outlet pipes provided by me to insure that the gases are heated evenly. As high powered engines generate more heat than lower powered englnes, the nature of the'oil or other liquid employed in the oil jacket would be variedaccording to the heat generated. Thus it will be seen in operation that when the engine is running, the paraflin or other fuel passes throughthe carburetor which is provided outside the exhaust chest or casing. The atomized or carbureted gas then passes along the oil jacketed or other inductionpipe when same is again assisted in ed by a second tube or tubes, such as 16,,

so as to form a vacuum between the said tubes, or asbestos, mica, or other material 15 may be inserted between these tubes or around the induction pipe so as to prevent the burning exhaust gases of the engine overheating the inductlon pipe so that the ingoing gases are ignited. Such jackets act similarly to the oil jacket in preventing undue heating of the combustible mixture.

Having thus described my invention and the manner in which the same is to be carried out, I claim:

1. In an apparatus of the class described in combination, an exhaust chest having two outlets, one at each end, an intake pipe for a combustion 'engine having two branches passing through said chest intermediate said outlets, said chest having an inlet port for receiving the exhaust gases of the engine and placed intermediate said branches whereby the exhaust gases impinge on the intake pipe and flow across said branches to said outlets 2. In an apparatus of the class described in combination, an exhaust chest for an internal combustion engine having two outlets, one at each end, an intake pipe for said engine having two branches passing through said chest intermediate said outlets, said chest having an inlet port for receiving the exhaust gases of the engine and being so arranged that the exhaust gases impinge .on said intake pipe and flow across said branches to said outlets.

3. In apparatus of the class described in combination, an exhaust chest having an 'tible outlet and having an inlet for receiving the exhaust gases of a combustion engine, an intake pipe for said engine passing through said chest, said chest being so arranged that the exhaust gases impinge upon the inclosed inlet pipe while the gases are passing from the inlet to the outlet of the chest, and a jacket surrounding said inlet pipe within said chest and adapted to prevent the overheating of the combustible gases, said jacket containing an oil which is not carbonized at the temperature to which it is subjected in the exhaust chest.

4. In apparatus of the class described in combination, an exhaust chest having two outlets, one at each end, an intake pipefor an internal combustion engine havlng. two

branches passing through said chest intermediate said outlets, a jacket surrounding said intake pipe within said chest adapted to prevent the overheating of the combusgases within the intake pipe, said chest having an inlet port for receiving the exhaust gases of the engine and placed intermediate said branches whereby the exhaust gases impinge on the intake pipe and flow across said branches to said outlets.

5. In apparatus of the class described in combination, an exhaust chest having two outlets, one at each end, an intake pipe for a combustion engine having two branches passing through said chest intermediate said outlets, said chest having an inlet port for receiving the exhaust gases of the engine and placed intermediate said branches, said chest also being so arranged that the exhaust gases impinge upon the inclosed intake pipe and cross said branches to said outlets, and a remixer in said intake pipe adapted to remix the combustible gases, said remixer comprising a number of closely disposed conical tubes arranged in the intake pipes.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two witnesses.

ALFRED JOHN KEMUEL WILESMITH.

Witnesses:

ARTHUR HENRY BROWN,

HOLLIS IRANK BROWN. 

